


Leverage, Season 2, Episode 12, The Zanzibar Marketplace Job

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: Leverage
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s02e12 The Zanzibar Marketplace Job, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 02, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24491398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.
Kudos: 4





	Leverage, Season 2, Episode 12, The Zanzibar Marketplace Job

Open to Maggie in Russia. Talking on the phone, she’s doing some work at a museum when she’s suddenly Tasered. I’m not sure if the police or thieves did this, but when she comes to, the police announce she’s under arrest.

Meanwhile, in the bar, Hardison is trying to convince Parker two weeks in Tokyo would be fun. She isn’t dismissive of the idea until it’s revealed there would be no stealing involved.

Sitting away from them, Nate, Tara, and Eliot are talking, and Eliot’s back is to the door. Nate’s talking about a case, and Tara isn’t exactly down with the continually helping people thing. Nate goes to get some coffee, or so he claims, and Tara points out he’s drinking again.

“I’m not an idiot, Tara,” Eliot responds. However, he insists the drinking isn’t a problem, it’s a symptom.

I don’t disagree Nate’s drinking is a symptom of several different things, but it’s also a problem in and of itself.

Nate comes back, and he sees Sterling walk in. “Eliot, I'm gonna ask you not to do anything violent.”

Hurt and offended, Eliot responds, “What? What are you talking about? I only use violence as- as a - as an appropriate response.”

“Hello, Nate,” Sterling greets.

Punch, goes Eliot.

The bartender moves to either stop the attack or call the police, but grabbing his arm, Hardison slips him money. Then, he and Parker gleefully watch their future husband beating down their sworn enemy.

Sterling has a baton (?), and he ineffectively smacks Eliot with it.

Eventually, Eliot has him in a chokehold against a table, but he says he has a job for Nate.

Nate makes it clear there’s absolutely nothing Sterling can say that would hook him.

“It’s Maggie.”

Sterling’s taken upstairs, and he explains a priceless egg has been stolen. Maggie was the only one at the museum the night it was stolen.

Tara’s filled in on who Maggie is, and having never met her, she reasonably asks if there’s any chance Maggie is guilty.

Parker declares Maggie the most honest person they know. However, this flaw aside, Maggie’s okay. Heh.

It’s established Maggie is in a Russian jail, and Sterling tries to make as if he immediately sprung into action for her sake when he heard. Nate, however, calls him on wanting to find the egg.

I don’t know. Putting aside my theory of Sterling working with Sophie and my theory of him being in love with Nate, Sterling could genuinely care for Maggie or have even deeper feelings for her. I’ve never shipped them, but the theory he could be in love with her is just as valid and invalid as my theories. Sterling is definitely opportunistic, but it could just be, he heard about what happened, couldn’t help her on his own, and so, immediately went to the one group of people he knew could and would unhesitatingly help her.

Sterling presents another suspect, and it’ll later be revealed this is Maggie’s boyfriend. More on this later.

Everyone but Eliot is ready to go to Russia. He refuses to work with Sterling, and Nate says he himself will be the one working with Sterling. Forgetting to add ‘ex’, he continues Eliot’s job is going to be to retrieve his (Nate's) wife from jail.

In Russia, Tara and Nate communicate via earbud, and Nate is sitting right next to Sterling and in front of the suspect and the suspect’s PA when he’s talking. Sterling knows about the earbuds and might even be wearing one himself, but the suspect and the PA, the former of whom he outright just said is guilty, don’t. 

If they’d reacted, it could be spun as Nate talking to Sterling, but neither reacts at all.

Nate and Sterling talk to the two, and the PA gives them a schedule verifying his boss’ alibi for when the egg went missing.

The meeting is over, and at the jail, Eliot and Hardison are having no luck getting Maggie out via forged legal papers. And so, Tara’s all, ‘You arrested the mistress of a very powerful person; it’d be a shame if said person took exception to this.’

The three leave, and Maggie is released. However, she quickly realises something is up by the officer’s new attitude towards her.

And so, she tracks down Nate and Sterling. I’m not sure how she does this, but it’s not unrealistic.

Before she arrives, however, Parker crashes the conversation Sterling and Nate are having, and Sterling’s unnerved by her just suddenly appearing in the room without making a sound. It’s established the suspect and Maggie recently had lunch together, and still, Sterling doesn’t reveal they’re dating.

Showing up, Maggie is irritated with Nate and patient but perplexed by Parker and Parker’s making of a fugitive bag for her. Sterling tries to help sell that, aside from creative strings in getting Maggie out, Team Leverage is out, and he and Nate are going to legally clear her name for her.

Next, Parker and Hardison are talking. She went to a museum, and she was impressed by the security systems. He asks about the paintings, and, “What about the paintings,” is her dismissive response.

They go into a room containing the suspect, and Hardison pretends he’s an American looking for the person to help him take his mail-order bride home. Something is done with the suspect’s phone during all this.

Later, they talk to Nate via earbud, and everything they’ve discovered points to the suspect being guilty.

Meanwhile, in a park, Tara and Eliot intimidate a man into giving up his ticket to a black-market auction for the stolen egg.

Next, a video-chatting Sophie explains to Eliot and Hardison how the auction will work. Nate comes in to join the conversation. It’s decided they’ll steal the stolen egg back.

Cue everyone minus Hardison at an American embassy party where the auction will be held. Sterling now for sure has an earbud.

Then, it’s revealed the suspect is Maggie’s boyfriend, and I really question why Sterling didn’t tell Nate before. Was it he wanted Nate to find out in the most painful way possible, he wanted Nate to find out when there was the best chance Nate would be too busy to get too caught up in the emotions of it, or was he hoping Nate wouldn’t have to find out all? Did he just not believe it was his business to say anything until it truly became relevant?

Sterling is a low-key jerk in this scene, but if he showed any actual compassion or sympathy, both Nate and the a large part of the audience would not be there for it. Nate knows a certain Sterling, and to me, there's actual canon evidence signalling that Sterling does often make sure Nate rarely sees a Sterling who deviates from the Sterling that Nate knows. My ideas on why he does this, however, are almost certainly different from what anyone involved in the show intended.

Maggie and Tara meet, and it’s awkward, mainly due to Nate’s passive-aggressive jabs.

On the other end, the suspect thanks Nate for getting Maggie out of jail, but it’s ambiguous if he knows their history, and it doesn’t say much for him he gave absolutely no indication of being worried or even trying to do anything whilst she was in jail.

Meanwhile, Eliot arrives at the auction.

Back with the awkward foursome, the PA comes to extract the suspect and Maggie, and Nate drinks.

In the auction, a live-stream of the egg is presented. To give Hardison time to trace the signal, Eliot has the presenter get the unseen person with the egg to make a series of number gestures with their hand in order to prove this isn’t an old recording.

Hardison discovers the egg is somewhere in the building, and he sends Parker to get it. As she does, Maggie and Tara are shown laughing together.

Nate comes over, and he asks Tara for some privacy. She leaves, and Nate tries to be a good guy about the fact his ex-wife is dating someone else. Tries. On the other hand, Maggie would be sincerely happy for Nate and Tara if not for the fact she’s understandably suspicious they’re not truly together.

Meanwhile, the auction is over, and Sterling helps Parker by distracting a guard from the room she needs to get in.

Parker gets the egg, and Hardison deliberately causes feedback in Sterling’s ear. Heh.

Elsewhere in the building, Nate and Maggie are looking for her boyfriend, and she realises he’s talking to both her and the others via earbud. She takes it out of his ear, he starts trying to convince her that her new boyfriend is the BGotW, and then, they’re both Tasered.

Nate wakes up in a locked room with her.

In temporary headquarters, Team Leverage is worried about Nate, and Sterling isn’t. He’s happy about having the egg, and he suggests Nate is likely just trying to convince Maggie her boyfriend is another example of her poor choice in men.

Cue someone calling from Nate’s phone. “We have your people.”

Sterling automatically tries to call the police, but Eliot stops him. “Two hostages mean they can kill one to make a point.”

When Eliot says the egg might be what the kidnappers want, Sterling takes the egg, and for some reason, Team Leverage just lets him.

As opposed as I am to kidnapping and violence in real life, they could have pulled a weapon and told him he could walk but the egg stayed, restrained him, or knocked him out and dumped him somewhere.

Admittedly, Sterling does try to help, but when they say Eliot’s lead, he tells them to call him when they realise they need him, but for all some in the audience might have believed he’d’ve answered the call, and it’s ambiguous whether they do ever call, due to taking a Doylist view, from a Watsonian perspective, Team Leverage absolutely should not trust him. They should not let him walk out with that egg.

Over to Maggie and Nate. The PA is thrown handcuffed into the room, and he claims the suspect has gone crazy.

Meanwhile, Team Leverage gets another call, and it’s shown and heard to be the suspect. There’s a man standing near him.

Eliot demands proof of life, and a live-stream of Nate, Maggie, and the PA is sent.

Speaking of, Nate and Maggie are bickering. She believes he’s dating Sophie, and again, she’s happy at this; what she’s not happy with is the lying to her about Team Leverage not being involved. He, however, makes it clear he’s not dating anyone, and he’s unapologetic about the lies.

“Are you actually having this argument now,” the PA demands.

They accuse the other of starting it. Hah!

At temp headquarters, Tara points out they’re going to have to convince Sterling to loan them the egg, and yeah. I do realise they don’t actually need it for what eventually happens, but before he took it, they knew they might need it. And this is why Team Leverage letting him take it in the first place was both stupid and out-of-character.

Back with Nate and Maggie, it’s revealed the suspect isn’t guilty. He’s being framed by the PA. The three are handcuffed into an elevator with a bomb.

Team Leverage figured things out, however, and they’re saved, though, not before Nate and Maggie snog.

BGotW is arrested, and Sterling pops out of a trunk with the egg in front of tons of reporters.

At the bar, it’s announced on the TV that Sterling is now working for Interpol.

I maintain he heard about Nate being fake Interpol and decided he was going to find a way to be real Interpol.

“I hate this guy,” Tara announces.

Clicking his beer against hers, Eliot announces, “Now, you’re part of the team.”

Over in another part of the bar, Maggie and Nate talk. She and the framed guy are done, and Nate is drinking Irish coffee. She says she likes the person Nate’s become and is sorry he doesn’t.

I’d say she doesn’t really know the person he’s become and that he realises this but isn’t sure how to convince her of this or if he even wants to.

Kissing his cheek, she leaves.

Fin.


End file.
